DS is being teased at school

[kinlaw6450]

but he won't tell me by who...just says the boys. Today I laid out his favorite Bob the Builder clothes. I know he's a little big for Bob but he likes him so what does it matter right?? Anyway, he saw the clothes and melted into a pile of tears. I don't mean little ones either, big bawling tears. He said he could not wear his Bob the Builder clothes to school anymore because the boys make fun of him when he wears them. These are his favorite clothes!! He won't wear them because the other kids say so. I just feel so helpless and bad for him. He's only 6!

Lately he's been getting in trouble in school...I got a note from the principal saying she was concerned since up to now he's had such a great year! Well, I guess now we know some of the problem!! I just don't know what to do about it.

I emailed his teacher, we have a pretty good relationship.

 

[Disney Doll]

I would say that the teacher is a good place to start. Tell her to be on the lookout for some bullying being directed at your son. You know, even the best teachers can't see evrything, but if they are made aware of potential problems, they can put up their "radar" and nip a lot of things in the bud.

 

[DawnCt]

Start with the teacher, as Disney Doll said, but also take note of how the other boys are dressed. It is important, even at the age of 6 that your son "fits in" with the other kids. If he is the only one wearing Bob the Builder clothes, then perhaps he needs to wear something else and save his favorite clothes for home.

 

[Pin Wizard]

I'd have him save his "favorite" for the weekends.

 

[Curly Q]

Such a tough thing to go through "fitting in". It's sad when a 6 year old has to worry about what to wear to school *~*~*~*~pd*~*~*~*~ for you and your son

 

[chris1gill]

I tend to agree, fitting in is really important to the little ones... I'd save the favorites for home or vacation & wear his bigger boy clothes to school... Sending lots of Pixie Dust for him....

 

[Libbysmom2000]

I don't have anything else to add I just wanted to let you know I feel badly for your son and you. It's hard to see your child hurting and not be able to just kiss it and make it better. I hope things improve soon. Maybe the teacher needs to have a refresher lesson for the whole class on not hurting anyone on the inside or outside.

 

[Disney Ella]

So sorry to hear that your son is going through this at 6! I don't understand why kids have to be mean to other people at any age. Let us know how it works out.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

oh yeah - welcome to the school years.

We once had a tantrum like that at our house over hooded sweatshirts. And it only gets worse. DS 12 now will only wear Jnco pants, no more Old Navy.

It can really hurt the pocket book if you don't pay attention to sales. I really would be in favor of school uniforms in our Public School. Honest I would.

 

[dandave]

I'm so sorry to hear that your son is being picked on. These children may just be repeating what they were told by their own parents, i.e "You're too old for BTB.."
I just polled my sons and the neighbor kid (6,8,8) about BTB. They all said he's for "2 year olds". I don't know if that helps at all, but they were unbiased opinions.

 

[Keli]

You know what's sad about this? When you ds is in high school he'll be able to wear 'bob the builder' and no one will even blink an eye.
My dd loved the power rangers when she was quite a bit older than the usual fan (she still liked them when she was about 8 years old). I had a mother comment in front of Ashli that she was kinda old to be a fan. My dd had tough skin in those days and the comment didn't phase her. (LOL, she lost that tough skin somewhere along the way)

 

[mowsie dreamer]

{{{Hugs}}} for you and your son. I know from experience with my DD what a difficult problem this can be to deal with.

I think you did exactly the right thing by letting the teacher know what is going on. Since you got a note from the principal, you might want to think about contacting her, also. She might be able to set some things in motion that the teacher wouldn't be able to, such as including in the curriculum some units on getting along and how teasing is bad. At the elementary school my DD went to there was a guidance counselor who came on a regular basis to the classroom to do these kinds of units.

Keep us posted. Hope your Ds has better school days ahead.

 

[nativetxn]

{{{HUGS}}} sweetie, sorry to hear your son is having to deal with this. Kids are just mean little critters sometimes. I hope the teacher can help you figure out a way to help your boy deal with the situation.

 

[Robinrs]

This happened to a friend of my son's in the first grade. He would come home upset and cried over little things. The mother asked me to ask Michael if he was having problems with some of the other kids.

Unfortunately, my son confirmed that two little boys teased him everyday, calling him a "monster". The little boy is a very high functioning autistic.

Sometimes other kids can give you insights to what's going on. I regularly talk to Michael's friends. They tell me about what he does when I'm not around and the teacher's not looking.

 

[Disney Dee]

When i was doing daycare, i saw alot of this. My cute little kindergardeners would go to school proudly wearing their Lion King, etc book bags on their shoulders. By the 2nd week, they refused to carry them anymore because they got teased, mostly by the older kids, same with the cute "themed" lunch boxes. I started telling the parents of soon to be kindergardners to buy plain unthemed items for their kids for just this reason. Its a shame, but kids can be very cruel!

 

[kinlaw6450]

No news from the teacher yet. It usually takes her a day or so to get to her email. He has officially "put away" the clothes though.

He isn't so much into Bob the Builder the TV show as he is to his "special" meaning with grandpa. See my dad is an electrician who just happens to be named Bob. He has taken Dakota to many of the buildings he has helped to build throughout Florida. So to Dakota GRANDPA is Bob the Builder which I why I think this is especially hard on him. Dad even has a stuffed Bob the Builder that rides in the truck with him. One of his crews gave it to him last Christmas as a gag gift!

I don't think he's even seen the TV show. I wasn't aware it was geared to the tiny kids.

 

[Mishetta]

So tragic that kids are under so much peer pressure at such a young age!

Thankfully, my son goes to a private school & is required to wear a uniform, so everyone looks the same.

This brought to mind that last summer I purchased some Pooh shorts & a Pooh polo shirt for my friend's son to give him for his b-day which was about a month later. Well, one day we went shopping together & I was picking up some shorts (Tigger) & shirt for my DS & my friend said to me "oh, my son would get beat up if he wore that in front of his school mates or friends." I was shocked! Needless to say, I quietly returned the cute outfit I had bought her son & got him something else instead.

They must fit in....

Hope all works out well for your little guy.

 

[Cinderellafifi]

I am so sad for your son! He is only 6 and already subjected to such cruelty! I hope that things improve immediately. ((Hugs))

 

[Kitty 34]

{{{{HUGS}}}} for you and your poor son.

 

[browneyes]

Poor Dakota. Does your dd know who might be making him upset? My dd is very clued into my Dakota's friends and happenings at school (she seems to know when he gets into trouble before he does ).